The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has publicly released accountability results for all schools and districts, which includes MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) results.
DESE accountability ratings are based on a formula that incorporates the following areas:
Achievement in English language arts (ELA), math, and science based on MCAS scores
Growth in ELA and math based on MCAS scores
High school graduation, dropout, and extended engagement rates
Progress towards English language proficiency, based on ACCESS test results
Additional Indicators, including chronic absenteeism and advanced coursework
“I am happy to report we are continuing to make progress towards our targets, both as a district and as individual schools,” said Superintendent Jackie Glasheen. “When we analyze the 2026 results, we see positive trends. This year, the district met 49% of its improvement targets.”
Since the progress designation reflects a weighted average of the last two years, HPS earned the designation of “moderate progress towards targets.” (See the Accountability Summary by school.)
This year, HPS has five schools that have made “substantial progress towards targets,” compared to last year when the district had three:
Donahue Elementary
Kelly Elementary
McMahon Elementary
Morgan Elementary
Sullivan Middle
There were other encouraging indicators of growth this year, Superintendent Glasheen said. For example, the district met performance targets as follows:
HPS saw an increase in the percentage of students making progress towards English language proficiency. The percentage of students meeting their annual targets increased 4.8 points for elementary and middle schools and 5.2 points for our high schools.
Chronic absenteeism for high school students dropped 2.1%, from 51.4% to 49.3%.
HPS also saw an increase in the percentage of students graduating high school in four years. In 2025, there was a 3.7 point increase to 80.8%—the district’s highest graduation rate on record since the state began reporting cohort-based rates in 2006.
“While we celebrate these successes, we are still keenly aware that we have a lot more work to do to realize our mission that all Holyoke students develop the skills and access the opportunities to graduate high school prepared for life, career, and college,” Mrs. Glasheen said. “The data confirms areas where we know significant improvement is needed.”
These include:
Achievement and growth of all students in ELA, math, and science
Chronic absenteeism in all schools
Achievement and growth of students with disabilities
These identified areas of needed improvements are consistent with trends for school districts statewide, Mrs. Glasheen said.
For more information on the accountability system and detailed information on individual school and districtwide results, visit the District and School Accountability page of the DESE website. In the next few weeks, official MCAS individual student reports will be delivered to the district and then sent to families. In addition, families can check their children’s MCAS results in the DESE Family MCAS Portal. You will need your family’s registration code to register, which can be found in the PowerSchool Parent Portal. Learn more about the kinds of information available in the Parent Portal and what you’ll need to set up your account on the PowerSchool page of the district website.